I am grateful to Deputy Ó Murchú for raising this once again. I welcome the comments by his party leader this week when she declared that this is a great State and a great place to live in. It makes a welcome change from most other days of the week. There is a considerable amount of preparatory work going on from political parties across the spectrum. The Deputy referenced our own work in Fine Gael, but also the work of the Labour Party and the Social Democrats, who appeared at the SDLP conference last week. Crucia…

No.

I thank all the Senators who have spoken and contributed to this debate, which I was following in between votes in Dáil Éireann, when I was not present myself. Like others, I acknowledge Senator Black on her lifetime of work on this issue, particularly since we were in the Senate, together with An Cathaoirleach and Senator Higgins when we first debated the original iteration of this Bill. The question for this Government at this juncture is, what can we do and how can we act at this time to make a difference in lig…

It removes landmines for children.

It trains people to remove landmines.

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions to this important regular debate, particularly those who have placed very pertinent questions that I will try to answer as thoroughly possible in the time available to me. I will start with the issue of Irish unity and how Europe relates to that as raised in questions by Deputies Ó Laoghaire, Ó Murchú and Gould and, indeed, in their party leader's opening intervention. One thing that is important when we talk about the constitutional future of our nation is how Europ…

It is the same with every medicine, treatment or equipment used in medical advice. It gets approved on a European basis and then has to be approved. It is just like when we pass legislation at a European level, it has to be transposed into domestic legislation. I take the Deputy's point, however, that it is not quick enough. When other member states are doing it quicker than us, that is something we need to reflect on. It goes to the point more broadly of competitiveness and the interests of the competitiveness age…

I will make a few concluding remarks to follow on from some of the points made by the Taoiseach in his opening iteration because in his 20 minutes he did not cover them all. In regard to the items discussed at the June European Council meeting, as we just finished off on the crucial issue of European defence, it was revisited at the meeting and leaders took stock of progress on the implementation of the defence readiness roadmap. Of course, security is one of Ireland's overarching priorities and that is why we will…

Yes. As Deputies Ó Laoghaire and Smith alluded to, we went through this in quite a bit of detail on Committee Stage and I recognise that as such. It is very much the firm opinion of the Government that such amendments are not required. For the benefit of the House, I will go through the reasons for this. First, I want to address the issue of intention, as raised by Deputy Ó Laoghaire. There is no doubt whatsoever that the Bill is specifically aimed at Israeli settlements. This is stated in both the Long Title and S…

The debate on this issue went into quite a bit of technical and hypothetical detail on Committee Stage. It must be stated clearly that the postcodes are very specific. They do not apply to a broad area. It is not the case that the Netherlands and Belgium have decided to go in a different direction. They are in a public consultation phase, which means it is not a fair comparison. There is the 90% covered by the postcode list and then there is the less than 10% that would, quite clearly, be trading under a different …

I acknowledge the presence in the Gallery of Senator Frances Black. I look forward to engaging with her on the legislation in the Seanad next week, all going well. I recall debating with her in the Seanad when she initially introduced her Bill. We sat beside each other. I will try to address as many points as possible in the time allowed to me, bearing in mind the extensive debate, over a number of hours last week, on Committee Stage when Deputies had the opportunity to contribute. It goes without saying that the c…

I have no doubt the Deputy was. I was merely a second-year arts student following Deputy Murphy's lead. In this area, when we talk about what other member states are doing, Slovenia does not have legislation. That is crucial here. I remember sitting with the then Slovenian foreign minister at the Foreign Affairs Council last year. She came up to me and asked, "What are you doing in Ireland? How can we follow your lead?" Unfortunately, that Slovenian Government lost the most recent election, and I say "unfortunately…

That is mad.

I appreciate the opportunity to come back in. This goes to the very clear place that in the case of goods, a public policy exception exists in EU regulation controlling the importation of goods. This gives the Government the opportunity, on foot of the ICJ opinion, to act in this manner on a domestic footing. I am taken by some of the language. Deputy Gibney used the terms "sinister" and "weaponising". We have had quite a cordial debate. I think such terms are out of place. What is sinister about seeking to bring i…

Respectfully, I did not interrupt the Deputy. I waited for my opportunity to intervene. This legislation is absolutely cast iron in line with international and EU law. It moves us towards our full obligations under the ICJ opinion. That is something we have to reflect on. However, there are issues with services, which have been well elucidated. When it comes to the example of Spain, Deputies cannot come into this Chamber and say that a royal degree amendment to a consumer Act, which has only resulted in some 60 or …

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. I will speak to the amendments, first and foremost, and then touch on some of the other interventions. On amendment No. 3, the designation of postal codes is not a one-off event. I have them in my hand. The Minister will be required to do this whenever the EU list of postcodes is periodically reviewed and updated. This is just something that is done. Placing a time limit on designation is neither operable nor necessary because we have them designated already. To Dep…

I thank the Deputy for consistently raising this issue in questions and debates and shining a light on what is the greatest humanitarian disaster currently happening on this planet. The conflict in Sudan continues to have a devastating impact on the Sudanese people, particularly women and children. I am particularly alarmed by the Rapid Support Forces' offensive of the city of El Obeid. Following their appalling attacks in El Fasher last year, there is a grave risk of the RSF committing further mass atrocities. The…

In reference to El-Obeid, on 19 June, Fr. Youhanna Al-Amin, a Roman Catholic priest, was killed in an attack on Holy Cross parish church. On the same date, in another attack on an office and warehouse of a partner organisation of Trócaire in South Kordofan, a guard working for the organisation was killed and a colleague wounded. The warehouse, which contained UNICEF medical and nutrition supplies, was looted. Trócaire is an organisation familiar to all of us. We know that the work of Trócaire takes place on a world…

Absolutely. Let us not mince our words. What is occurring in Sudan is the worst humanitarian disaster on the planet. There are acts of pure depravity being perpetrated. Rape is being used as a weapon of war on a scale that has not been seen for a long time. The Irish Government is absolutely committed to continuing to keeping Sudan at the top of the agenda. We have done this consistently at European Council meetings. We have done this through the UN, particularly at the UN General Assembly high-level week. The Mini…

I am very grateful to Deputy Ó Laoghaire for raising this issue. The Government remains deeply concerned by the security situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some progress has been made in the peace process facilitated by the United States, Qatar and the African Union, but the situation remains a matter for very serious concern. We join calls on all parties to respect ceasefire agreements and engage in a process to attain a sustainable peace. All sides must respect their obligations un…